José Mingret (1880-1969), painter and mountaineer

Louis-Joseph Mingret was born in Vitré, in Ille-et-Vilaine, where his father, Tony Mingret, held the position of registrar of mortgages. Originally from Mâcon, Tony Mingret returned to his native region in 1901. During this period, his son was in Paris and enrolled at the Académie Julian, where he studied from 1901 to 1903. Among his teachers there were William Bouguereau, Edouard Toudouze and the portraitist Marcel Baschet. 

The artist developed his love of the mountains alongside his father, who took him to a friend of the family in Switzerland, the landscape painter Albert Gos (1852-1942). Together, they went on trips to places such as Aosta Valley and the foot of the Matterhorn. 

The first identified mountain painting by Mingret dates back to 1919. Rather than painting from life, en plein air, he drew many detailed sketches, which he then used to produce the finished work in the studio. 

From the 1920s, he worked mainly with watercolours and then moved to oil painting on paper. During this period, he exhibited in Paris, at the Société des peintres de montagne (society of mountain painters) and Galerie Le Goupy, where he found success with his mountain scenes. 

As a climbing enthusiast, he scaled the peaks of the Italian Alps in all seasons. His passion for mountaineering shone through even in his studio attire, which included a woollen hat, jumper and mountain socks.